To Quote President Obama: "Small businesses are the heart of the American economy, their responsible for half of all private sector jobs, and they created roughly 70% of all new jobs in the past decade. They're not only job generators; they're at the heart of the American Dream." That pretty much says it all. In an effort to help small businesses, the stimulus bill allocated $730 million for direct spending on small-business programs, including expanded financial support for the SBA's two key lending initiatives.

That should help, but having access to credit is just the start. Small businesses are going to be more important than ever to our economy. They will be the engine that pulls us out of this economic recession. They will develop the new ideas and create the new jobs to keep the country growing, but just as lending institutions need to free more credit to allow small businesses to grow, small business owners in turn are going to have to get much savvier about marketing and promoting their businesses in order to reach their target market and have their businesses grow. Many businesses are cutting their PR and marketing, just when they should be focusing on reaching their customers. Many companies don't realize that by cutting their advertising and marketing budgets they're also cutting their lifeline to their customers. If a company is not visible, how will its clients find it?

Remember, your public relations, promotions and marketing budget is not an expense, it is an investment in ensuring that your company grows - particularly during tough times. Studies have repeatedly shown that companies that continue to market during tough economic times see growth during those times, where businesses that cut their marketing budget will generally not only see a decrease in sales, they will have lost market share when the economy turns around.

McGraw Hill's study found that those businesses that boosted their public relations, marketing and advertising during a recession grew 275% over the 5 years proceeding. However, those businesses that cut back, if they were still in business, only grew 19%. That's pretty striking. It doesn't take a genius to see that the worst business decision you can make, particularly in tough times, is to cut back your marketing efforts.

It's not time to stop marketing, but to re-evaluate your marketing and figure out where your dollars are best spent. Perhaps a full scale advertising campaign is prohibitive at this time. Consider a well targeted PR or Media Relations Campaign. That way you not only cut your marketing costs, you reach your target market and receive the credibility and validation that only media exposure can offer you. With a good marketing gameplan, you can establish yourself as an expert in your field, reach new customers and build your business, even during tough economic times.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2009